In What We Trust (4)

[Tiger the Lion]

In What We Trust

Good ole Buck was a bear I like "bear of a dog"
of a dog, an all black shepherd all black or mostly black?
with a small white tie on his chest. Overall, a nice opening
On an early autumn evening
we sat on the side porch
of my brother’s house, looking out
on the clearing between the woods.

I think he was listening to the last Maybe "Buck" in stead of "he" for clarity. (more on this later)
of the crickets, smelling the dusky
richness of the first fallen leaves,
as he gazed with pointed ears toward
something (I) couldn’t quite see. we?
His gentle orange eyes reflected like "gentle orange eyes"
the crescent moon, and he smiled
(I’m sure of it) while seeming to ask,
“did you smell that? Hear that?”
I did not- but I could feel it.

(In this anthropocentric world
that we pass through, I find it
interesting that we ascribe human qualities
to just about anything)- hands in branches, not a huge fan of the section in brackets- a little authorial intrusion - is there another way you could say this? or show it?
faces in clouds, Jesus in pancakes.
My God. Are we really created
in Your image, or You, in our imaginations?
But we are not what this is about. the rest of the strophe I like

It's about Buck: an animal; one particular animal:  I feel pretty strongly about this and I rarely say that in a crit
whose image was he created in?
Just a simple dog, so obviously attuned
to something I half-heartedly have faith in.
I know you think I’m foolish;
blasphemous even, or maybe just
confused.  Yet I’m certain of that night
on the porch, and I remember it often 
since we buried him by the brambles
in my brother's yard, nearly 40 years ago.

Enjoyed this Mark. If anyone else had posted this I'd be accusing them of plagiarizing Mark Becker. It's distinctly your voice and I like that about it. The bracketed section reads as though it's utility and stands out for me. My other nit was the slight overuse of "he" where, IMO, at least one repetition of "Buck" or "ole Buck" would better serve the poems charm... and Buck.